Forge furnace



FORGE FURNACE Filed July 16, 1948 E. K. BASTRESS ET AL g ug. 14, 1951Patented ug. i4, 195i' FORGE FURNACE Ernest K. Bastress and Ernest G. deCoriolis, To-

ledo, Ohio, assignors to Surface Combustion l Corporation, Toledo, Ohio,a corporation of Ohio Application July 16, 194s, serial No. 39,054

This invention relates to a fuel heated forge furnace and has for itsgeneral object to provide a furnace whereof the wall enclosure whichforms the furnace chamber shall be comprised of `individually supportedsections arranged end to end and supported in a manner to permit anyparticular section to be readily removed for replacement purposes. Otherrelated objects will appear hereinafter. For a consideration of what weconsider to be novel and our invention, attention is directed to thefollowing specification and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Fig. 1 `is a plan view of a furnace embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the furnace shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.`

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view at the jointbetween abutting sections of which the furnace chamber is comprised.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section on line 5-5 of Fig. l..

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

The Wall structure IU which forms the furnace chamber II is comprised ofa plurality of intermediate sections I2 between front and rear endVsections I3 and I4, respectively. The several sections I2, I3 and I4have cylindricaltunnels and are independently Vsupported on a support I5comprising a pair of longitudinally extending rails or side beams I5between which the sections are adapted to be disposed with their tunnelsin axial alinement to define a continuous furnace chamber which iscircular` in vertical section. All of these several sections, except thefront section I3, are free to move lengthwise with reference to thesupporting beams or rails I5 as longitudinal thermal expansion of theWall structure III may require. Y

. The front section I3 (which is the Work entering end of the furnacechamber) is supported on the rails I5 by side arms I6 which extend fromthe upper portion of the section and which are joined at their outerends by connecting plates I1 adapted to rest on and be bolted to saidrails. The rails I 5 constitute the top side of an elevated structurebetween which a substantial portion of the wall structure IB isdisposed. Brackets 2| are bolted to the structure 2U to assist inanchoring said front section against longitudinal displacement on saidrails.

Yieldable means are employed to maintain the 2 wall structure II) as awhole under sufficient 1ongitudinal compression to maintain the severalsections thereof in abutting relation. The means for this purpose willordinarily comprise coil springs 22, Vone at either side of the furnace,tending to slide the rear end section I4 of the furnace chamber towardthe front end section thereof by acting on horizontal pull rods '23connected to side brackets 24 carried by saidsection I4. The rodsconveniently extend through pillarsl 25 which comprise partof thelelevated structure'- 20 and the springs are carried by their respectivepull rods to abut said pillars.

The means for transmitting the load of the individual intermediatefurnace chamber sections I2 to the supporting'rails I5 comprises foreach section a pair of arms 26'Which extend over said rails from theupper portion of the section, the cuter ends of the arms being joined bya connecting plate 21 on which a pair of vertically adjustable screws 3Uare mounted for the purpose of leveling the section with reference tosaid railsl and the adjacent sections so that all of the sections may bein axial alinement. These screws do not rest directly on the supportingrails but on caps 3| individual to said screws, the caps in turn restingon a plurality of antifriction rollers 32 supported directly on therails I5 between side flanges 33 onthe latter. A central `longitudinalbracing member 34 extends between the supporting arms 26. The load ofthe rear section I4 is transmitted to the supporting rails I5 throughantifriction bearings in the same manner as the intermediate sections I2.

The front and rear end sections I3 and I4 of the furnace chamber areeach closed by an end wall 31 having a. slot-type work passage 40. Thework W to be heated is advanced through the furnace chamber oninternally cooled skid rails 4I, these rails being supported atlongitudinal intervals atop transversely extending bridge walls 42.Other internally cooled tubes 43 may also be supported on said bridgewalls alongside of the path of travel of the work pieces to serve aslateral guide rails for the Work pieces. A reciprocating pusher 39 willordinarily be employed to advance the work pieces along the skid rails.

Each of the intermediate sections I'2 of the furnace chamber has a hightemperature refractory lining 44 inside of an exterior metal shell orcasing with a layer of heat insulating material 45 therebetween. Becausemolten slag is formed when scale from work pieces contacts the very hotfurnace walls, and this slag has a deleterious effect on the refractorylining 44, the bottom portion of the furnace chamber I I Where the slagtends to collect is provided with a slag collecting trough or apron 46of slag resisting refractory material. The underside of the bridge walls42 is above this apron so that it will not prevent molten slag frompassing thereunder.

The refractory lining of each intermediate section l2 is extendedslightly beyond the ends of the exterior metal casing 35 to insure thatthe adjacent ends of the refractores rather than the ends of the metalcasing about each other when` the sections are in abutting relationthereby reducing to a minimum the likelihood of the ends of the metalcasing becoming overheated by leak? age of hot gases and molten slag atthe joint between said sections. An internal metal ring 41 within eachend of the casing serves to impart rigidity to the edge of the latterand to key it to the corresponding refractory section, with spacebetween the adjacent rings and casings to allow for differentialexpansion, thus keeping the burner nozzles 5l substantially alined. withf -uel inlet ports 50 A, removable metal strap about. adieeent ends ofthe. metal shell 35 tends. to hold Said. ends in. alinement.

Heat is produced' inthe furnace chamber I l by burning fully eerztedfuel therein in Contact with the inner cylindrical surface of therefrac-f` tory lining 4.4 whereby the latter is rapidly heated to. lsuchelevated temperature that it constitutesy a. source of radiant heat forheating the work pieces in the chamberto forging temperature. Ilhe fuelis introduced into said chamber through a multiplicity of tangentialinlet ports 5o formed in the refractory lining 44. of the intermediatefurnace chamber sections l2. Aerated fuel underpressure isdelivered tosaid ports by individuel fuel supply nozzles 5I mounted on the outermetal shell 35. of thel chamber sections l2. The aerated fuell is.delivered to Seid. nozzles 5l by supply conduits 53 which lead fromsupply manifolds 5.4.L As best shown in. Es- 2. each. of the intermediate sections I2,v of the furnace chamber willV have its own group offuel supply nozzles 5i and its own. fuel supply manifold for the same sothat the supply of fuel to the several sections may. be si independentlycontrolled. The Crossed lines ,521

indicateA diagrammatically the fuel supply nozzles 50 for the otherintermediate Sections i2, The end sections I3 and i4 each has a stack 55for exit of the combustion products from the furnace chamber il.

The skid rails. lll and the lateral guide rails 4 3 associated therewithare so mounted-that ther may be readily withdrawn from thefurnacecharnber either for replacement pur-poses cr preparatory to,removing any. particular. fur-nacecbamber section for replacementpurposes. Such outside connections as must, be severed. betere anyparticular section can be removed for replacement, purposes arereadilyaccessible. The gas supply manifolds 5,4 are. anchored to thesup-` porting structure 20; hence, the fuel deliveryv conduit?, 5,3.between the same and the dischaijgel nogzles 5.0. comprise flexibletubing to compensate for longitudinal movement of the furnace charri-4bei* sections plants where space is at a premium and where nightemperature head must be maintainedn the furnace chamber whereby to,heat the work as rapidly as possible to reduce the formation of scale onthe work to a minimum.

The furnace has special utility in From the foregoing description itwill now b seen that the present invention provides a fuel heated forgefurnace that is well adapted for its intended purpose.

What is claimed is:

l. In a furnace for heating work to elevated temperature, incombination, structure defining a single elongate furnace chamberwherein the work is heated, a horizontally-elongate support whereon saidstructure is mounted, said structure being transversely split to dividethe same into a plurality of sections including end sections and atleast one intermediate section, said sections being individuallyremovably mounted on said support to :permit independent removal of saidsections from said support for replacement or repair, said sections eachcomprising an external metal casing and a lining of refractory materialtherewithin, and means for releasably holding said sections incontacting relation.

2. In a furnace for heating work to elevated temperature, incombination, structure dening a single elongate furnace chamber whereinthe work is heated, a horizontally-elongate support whereon saidStructure is mounted for thermal expansion and contraction, saidstructure being transversely split to divide the same into a pluralityof sections, said sections being individually removably mounted on saidsupport to permit independent removal of said sections for replacementor repair, said sections each comprisingan external metal casing and alining of refractory material therewithin, and means for maintainingsaid structure under longitudinal compression,

3. In e furnace for heating Work to elevated temperature, incombination, structure defining a Single elongate furnace chamberwherein the work is heated, a horizontally-elongate supportwhereon saidstructure is mounted, said structure being transversely split todivide'the same into a plurality of sections including end sections andat least one intermediate section, said sec; tions being individuallyremovably mounted on said support to permit independent removalof saidsections for replacement or repair, said secf. tions each comprising ametal shell and a refractory lining within said shell, and said Shellsat the abutting ends of said'sectionsterminatingl short of therefractory lining to insure that the adjacent ends of the refractorylinings but not the metal shells shall be in abutting relation at theabutting ends of said sections.

ERNEST K.. BASTRESS.. ERNEST G. DE CORIOLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Ille of;this. patenti UNITEDl sfr-ATEs PATENTS

